Peeping Toms
by S. Schumaker
Summary: UM Usagi has decided to move to the Big City of Tokyo to live out her dreams. But, when a small accident has her spying on the sexy neighbor boy, her entire life flips upside down. Originally I posted this under Sailor Sherry, but she's me and I'm her! RR
1. Chapter 1: The Big City

**"Peeping Toms"  
****By: S. Schumaker**

_Standard Disclaimers Apply_

_(AN: I've decided to revamp this story as well. I feel that it is my most original idea and I want to make it better! Please R/R to let me know what you think of the changes[PS: Yes, I am Sailor Sherry AND Watermelon Seeds. I've been getting e-mails saying I'm stealing their stories...but alas, they were mine to steal! Just wanted to clarify that!! Please let me know if you find any mistakes, Tokyo wise, or grammar wise. Thanks so much! Also, be sure to check out my profile page for dates of upcoming updates on all my stories! Thanks and Happy Independence Day!)_

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**Chapter One - The Big City**

Here I was, in a small town in Japan called Morioka, about to make it big. I was leaving the nest, moving out on my own, something that I have wanted to do my entire life. It was my chance to fly, to become something. The only problem, my father was a little hesitant to just let me go.

"Tokyo? Are you sure you want to live so far away?" my father asked, hugging me into his shoulder as we walked forward.

"Yes, Daddy, I'm sure!" I responded, smiling slightly at the worry evident in his voice.

"But Usagi, it's so far away! What if you need something? What if something happens? And, the crime rate is terrible there! What if you get kidnapped or something? We'd be so far away we'd never know if something happened to you!"

"I'll call! Don't worry! Besides, it's only three hours by train!" I said with a laugh in my throat. My father could be so protective. I picked up my bag and placed it over my shoulder. We were walking into the local train station, searching for the one that would bring me to my new life in the big city. Ever since I was little, I had dreamed of Tokyo. I thought it was the best city in which I'd make my dreams come true. Well, here I was, about to move there. About to live there! In high school, my senior class decided to take our class trip to Tokyo. It was an experience I'll never forget. One that helped me make the decision I was about to go through with.

"Okay, Sweetie, I packed my cell phone in your bag. Please call us as soon as you reach your new apartment. And I mean that!" My mother said, her tone stern.

I released a small giggle at the protective nature of my mom. She usually left that kind of thing up to her husband. They really were the greatest! "Thanks mom!" I said. I hugged them one last time, as my brother, Motoki, came around the corner toward us. Motoki is my only sibling and my other half. My twin. He looks a lot like me, blonde hair, shorter of course, but the exact same shade of golden blonde. The only difference between us, besides our genders, are his deep, green eyes (mine are blue). We have always been close, and lately, he's become a little distant with me. He's upset that I'm moving so far away when we have _never_ been apart before. I know that he'll miss me and I'll miss him. But this had to happen. We certainly couldn't live with each other for our entire lives. His goodbyes couldn't be set aside any longer. I was leaving Morioka.

He started walking toward me, but stopped about two feet away. I could feel my eyes fill with tears as I stared at him. A lone tear rolled down his cheek as I suddenly found my body crashing into his. I held him so close, I thought my lungs would cave in, but I wouldn't let go, I couldn't. My tears flowed freely down my cheeks as I grasped him tightly to me. I felt like I was losing a piece of myself. I could literally _feel_ my heart ripping apart inside of my chest.

"I love you!" I whispered into his ear.

"I love you too, Usagi! Now, get out of here." he said, softly pushing me away, quickly wiping his hands across his wet cheeks. "You'll never leave if you don't go now. Make me proud, Sis!" he said, handing me my train ticket.

"I will. I love you all!" I said, wiping away my tears as my train pulled up beside me. I grabbed the handle on the doorway, looking back at my family as they huddled together, silent tears dropping from us all. I waved at them quickly as I hopped into the train, hearing the door slide shut behind me and my Morioka life.

As soon as I entered the train, my anticipation began settling in. I was actually following my dreams! I resettled my bags on my shoulder and started heading toward my seat. The train was built for long journeys as I noticed that my seat and another were inside a small room. They were built to be not only chairs but small couches for napping. The other one in the room was already occupied by a woman with golden blonde hair, covering up her sleeping face. I shrugged my shoulders and took my seat, gazing out the window.

A loud whistle blew as the train began on its journey to Tokyo. It would only a couple of hours for me to reach my destination, but I was already feeling scared and very alone. I leaned my head back against the seat, a tear sliding down my cheek. I already missed Motoki. Suddenly, a voice broke into my thoughts as I hastily wiped away my tears.

"Tickets, please?" A tall man asked in the doorway of the little room. He was a man of small build, thinning gray hair atop his head. He smiled at me softly as I quickly stood and grabbed for my ticket.

"Here you are." I said to him, smiling back as I handed it to him. He took it from me, stamping it quickly and handed it back. He looked over at my "roomie" and was about to wake her when an arm suddenly reached out, a ticket in hand. Her face remained hidden as the man stamped it too and headed out of the room, a confused look upon his face. I sat down again, wondering silently if I was making a huge mistake rearranging my entire life.

About an hour into the trip, as I was reading a cheesy harlequin romance that my mother bought me at the train station, I heard the sounds of someone waking nearby. I glanced over and found the blonde haired woman stirring slowly. She rose on the small cot, took notice of me, and smiled gently my way, moving to sit up before me.

Her arm outstretched before me, "Minako Aino." I took her hand in mind, shaking it firmly.

"Usagi Tsukino. It's nice to meet you." I replied, smiling at her gently. She was a very beautiful woman with soft blue eyes and bright pink lips. She was in her early twenty's yet had a very graceful, business-like quality to her.

"So, why are you heading to the big city?" Minako asked me, as she got more comfortable on the couch-like seat, leaning back against the wall, her long hair dangling down and over her.

"Actually, I'm moving there. What about you?" I asked her, following suit, and getting a little more comfortable on the hard seats as well.

"Oh, I'm just heading home. I had some business out in Hokkaido. I've been riding these blasted trains for hours." She smiled at me. As we continued on our journey, I began to learn more and more about the beautiful Minako Aino. I discovered that she worked for a very high class firm as a secretary. She was often shipped around the country doing various errands and chores for her employers. She was recently married and lived happily in one of the suburbs of Tokyo.

Minako and I continued to learn more about each other during the trip. We shared our family photos with one another and discussed serious topics like our hopes, dreams, and fears. She also helped to reassure me about my decision to move across the country, one of the biggest fears of my entire life. "Don't worry, you'll absolutely adore living in Tokyo. It's one of the best places to start your life." Minako smiled at me, her kind words already returning my own self-confidence in my decision.

After a while, we both decided to try and get in a nap before we reached the city. I laid my head down on that hard couch-seat and was out like a log. Before I knew it, I was being shaken awake by that same gray-haired man who stamped my ticket.

"Miss, the train has stopped now. This is your stop. Welcome to Tokyo!" He smiled at me, offering his hand to me to help me up. I took advantage of it, thanking the man quietly for waking me. I turned to wake up Minako, to find her and all of her baggage already gone. The smile from my lips disappeared as I realized I missed the chance to say goodbye to her. I might never see her again. I sighed before lifting up my bags and turning to leave.

"Miss, you dropped this!" The man's voice halted me. I turned to face him and saw him holding out a small folded piece of paper towards me.

"Thank you." I said, unsure of what it was. I opened it quickly and was surprised to find a note from Minako written in neat handwriting. It read: "Now don't you forget about me, Usagi! I plan on hearing from you in the next week or so! Minako!" She had also written down her telephone number and address.

"You can count on it!" I said to no one in particular as I smiled to myself and stepped from the train. I walked out of the train station and found myself in the center of a bustling town with people moving everywhere. I took in a deep breath to steady myself as I hailed myself a taxi. Soon, a cab was waiting at the curb for me. I quickly slipped inside of it.

I told the driver the address of my new apartment, and we were off. I had been here a few months ago to look at some apartments with Motoki. The only one I could afford was a very old, small, one bedroom. I'm surprised that I even found the place, normally it would take forever to find an apartment in Tokyo, but I got lucky. After I nearly lost my life six times in the taxi, it came to a screeching halt in front of the building that was my new home. I paid the driver and stumbled out of the car, my stomach doing somersaults.

I escorted myself, and my heavy luggage, into the old building and up the elevator. I would be on the eleventh floor, with an "excellent" view of all the tall buildings around me. Now, I wouldn't say that my apartment was terrible, but it certainly needed some work. The paint on the walls was chipping, something that would definitely need to be redone, the sinks and bathtub were lined with rust, and the previous owners left some furniture that seemed to be from 1972. However, I was upbeat about it all, and well, was too tired to give a damn. I opened up my bag and began to go through it. I found my mother's cell phone quite easily and then after that the keys to my apartment. The elevator doors pinged open and I walked to my door. The numbers on the door were crooked and I tried to straighten them, but they immediately jumped back into their original positions. I sighed as I unlocked it and opened up the door, a strong musky scent filling my nostrils. I took one last look behind me before I stepped into my brand new home.

Boxes and bags littered the entire apartment, each that I had personally sent to myself from back home. I smiled, dropping my bag as I turned to begin locking the door behind me. The neighborhood I lived in now wasn't the greatest, and it seemed that the people that lived here before me understood that, five locks lined the door, two on every window. I quickly bolted them all, protecting myself and my belongings carefully.

The apartment was already equipped with a stove, fridge, and even a dishwasher. I went to the fridge and flipped it on, causing the air to cool inside of it. Then, I took a seat on the floor of what would soon be my living room. I picked up my mother's cell phone and dialed home.

"Hello, Tsukino residence." My mother's voice answered.

"Hi Mom!" I replied, a smile plastered on my face at the familiar voice.

"Usagi! Is everything alright? Are you hurt?" She questioned worried.

"No Mom, I'm okay! I just wanted to call and tell you that I made it here all right. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, we're all fine. Motoki hasn't left his room all day, but I'm sure he'll be okay soon. Do you want to speak with him?"

"Yes, please." I heard a shuffling of the phone being passed around before Motoki's voice came through the line.

"Usagi? Is that you?" Motoki asked, a smile in his voice.

"Yes, Motoki. I miss you so much already."

"I miss you too. How was your trip? Did you catch up on some sleep?"

"It was pretty good. A little boring, but I did meet the most amazing woman! Her name is Minako and she lives right here in Tokyo. I'm really glad because I was sure that I wouldn't meet anyone here for quite some time."

"That's awesome, Usagi. So tell me, can you see ANY stars from your new apartment's HUGE window?" Motoki was referring to the very large French doors that led to my balcony in my living room. Motoki was studying to be an astrologer. He loved anything and everything to do with the stars. It all started when on our 10th birthday my mother bought us both matching telescopes. I rarely used mine, but Motoki's is still set up in his room. He knows hundreds of different constellations and star names.

"Um," I stood up from my place on the floor and stood in front of my window. "Well, I can see at least two." I joked. Motoki had decided to go to college and become something great. Me, no! I hated high school. I didn't think I'd be able to graduate from that! There was no way that I was going to go to college! I'd probably flunk out my first semester! So, instead, I went to a small two-year school where I studied computers and how to fix them. I guess I'm pretty smart about that, but I also grew up playing computer and video games constantly.

"Only two stars! Ah well, I will still take a look at them this Christmas vacation!"

"You'd better! Well, I should get going, I don't want Mom's phone to go dead. I love you!"

"I love you too! Be careful okay? Tokyo is very dangerous." Motoki's tone of voice turned a little serious.

"I will! Bye, Motoki." I smiled into the phone.

"Bye, Usagi!" I pressed the end button on the cell phone, a deep feeling of loneliness settling over me.

I already missed Motoki so much. We were so close; I don't know why we have to be so far away. I started to doubt my decision of moving here. Why did I really choose to move here? Why didn't I just stay at home with my family? I know that I'd have to leave home someday, but it's just so hard.

I continued to think about Motoki and my parents until I couldn't handle it anymore. I wanted to be close to them, close to Motoki, and the only way I could do that was to do what he loved. I searched through box among box until I came upon it. My telescope. I pulled it out, covering myself in dust, and took it from its protective box. I walked over to my balcony and started to set it up. It took me awhile to figure out how to, but once I had, I flipped off the light to see the sky better. I looked through the lens, focusing in on the stars I could see. I already felt closer to him. Motoki was probably gazing up at the same stars as me at that exact moment. I stood up and smiled. Tokyo would be hard for me, but it was something that I had to do.

I walked away from the window, intending to go through some more boxes. If I wanted to get my apartment feeling more like home, unpacking would be the fastest way! Before I even made it one step away I tripped over the 'invisible' box I had pulled my telescope from. My body flipped over the box; my leg painfully hit my telescope as I fell to the floor, my elbows and knees rubbing against the hardwood floors painfully. I slowly stood up, rubbing my body from the fall. I walked, more carefully and more slowly, back to my telescope to see if I had broken it. The outside seemed all right, so I decided to look through it to see if the focus was off. The view my eyes saw was just a black. I was looking at the wall of the building across the street! I glanced up and saw a room with the lights still on. I would just test the focus out on that room to make sure that everything was still in working order. I looked in the lens once more and began scanning the wall until my view landed on the single room.

And that's when I saw him! A very handsome man was standing up by the window of his apartment. He was watching something down on the street, his hands running roughly through his raven locks. He was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen and I desperately wanted to get to know him. He was wearing khakis and a white button up shirt. His sleeves were rolled up and his pants were as well, giving him a very boyish appearance. I could almost see his muscled chest beneath his shirt. This was one GOOD telescope!

For some reason, I stood there, minutes, hours, who knows how long. I watched him drink his coffee, read his book, he paced for a while. Something was definitely on this man's mind, something that would require a lot of thinking. I wanted to help him; I wanted to calm him, to reassure him that whatever it was that was bothering him would be all right. But I couldn't. All I could do was observe him from a distance. The mystery man from across the way…

To Be Continued…

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_(AN: What do you think so far? Good? Bad? Let me know!!)_


	2. Chapter 2: The Peeping Begins

**"Peeping Toms"  
****by S. Schumaker**

_Standard Disclaimers Apply_

_(AN: Hi! How's it going? All right, now, I'm sure you'll figure it out, but this chapter is in Mamoru's POV. I will probably be alternating views with each new chapter, okay? So, hopefully this won't confuse you too much... Just keep this in mind, okay? And, as always, reviews are greatly appreciated!)_

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**Chapter Two - The Peeping Begins**

I'd been having a dreadfully awful day. It started off like any other: I showered, got ready for school and walked to the subway heading to the university. However, once I found myself comfortably seated on the train, I thought about how important it was to attend my biology class today and how much my grade could improve if I did. It was the day when our teacher was going to assign this huge project. Then suddenly, the train came to a halt, the lights flickering off, and the people becoming deadly silent. The intercom system crackled as a message was relayed over it. Something about a "technical difficulty" holding up the train and my day as a result. Of course causing me to lose precious lecture minutes on the most important day of the semester. Just my luck. I sat on that train for five hours before it finally began taking me to school, however, by the time I got there... all my classes were already over!

But when I finally reached the campus, I was too upset to just turn around and go home again and so I decided to stop by the cafeteria to see if there was anything good to eat on the menu today. As I scanned the array of choices before me I actually noticed a few things that looked edible. I filled up my tray and headed toward the checkout line. I handed my student id card to the woman as she scanned in my food. "Oh, I'm so sorry Mamoru Chiba. It seems your card has been temporarily suspended due to some unresolved tuition payments." She read off of her screen.

"What?" I exclaimed, handing her a few dollars instead. I sat down, confusion settling over me at what the woman told me. Unresolved tuition payments? What in the heck did that mean? I practically inhaled my lunch before racing off to the financial aid office to see what was going on with my school loans. I pulled open the door, a little roughly, and stormed into the office of my financial counselor.

"Ah, Chiba-san, I've been meaning to call you in for a chat. Please seat down." I fully walked into the office, closing the door behind me. I looked toward the voice of my counselor, but all I saw was the back of a large, black chair, a trail of smoke drifting up toward the ceiling. I scrunched my forehead in confusion. "Sit." I quickly grabbed the nearest chair and settled into it. Just as I had taken my place in the chair, the black chair before me spun around revealing my counselor holding a cigarette. She was wearing a frilly dress with bows and wide colors all over it. Just looking at her made me feel dizzy. I sat back in the chair, trying to create more space between the two of us.

"So, I heard there was a problem with my tuition. What happened? Didn't my loans go through?" I asked of her, my head starting to ache from the cigarette smoke.

"Actually, no. Two of the loans didn't go through properly and you still owe ten grand to the school. I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you, but if you don't get it in by next week, all of your work this semester will be wasted and the credits will not be added to your transcript." She explained, taking a deep drag off of her cigarette before blowing the smoke in my face. I coughed a little before slumping down in my seat.

"Next week? How am I supposed to get that amount of cash in a week?" I whispered to myself, dropping my gaze to my hands in my lap, completely dejected and upset.

"You know, I might be able to help you out there." A voice said from behind me. I whirled around to see my counselor standing there. I turned back toward her desk to find her missing from the large chair. How in the world did she get behind me without my knowledge? "I know of a few scholarships that are looking for you exactly. Orphaned child going into medicine. I have some applications around here somewhere." She began leafing through a pile of papers. "You should give them a call." She answered, pulling out a few sheets of paper and handing them to me.

"Thank you. I'll take a look at them." I smiled at her in gratitude before walking out the door and heading back to the subway and my apartment.

Now, you'd think that getting trapped on the subway and having a debt of $10,000 would bring my day down to the lowest possible spot, but there was just one more event that really threw my mood into shambles. An old girlfriend. She was sitting outside my door when I arrived and the sight practically made my stomach do a flip. I began to feel very faint. We dated for almost two years before I caught her cheating on me with my best friend. No, I didn't catch them on a date. No, I didn't see them kissing. I walked in on them doing the deed in my kitchen. My kitchen!! The same kitchen that I eat all of my meals in! It was mortifying then and was still mortifying today. She was the last person that I wanted to see, ever! I stopped in my tracks at the end of the hall, wondering to myself if I would go unnoticed if I just turned around and ran in the direction I came. Just when I turned around to make a safe getaway, I heard her scratchy voice say my name.

"Mamoru! You finally came home!"

I shut my eyes tightly in anger, took a deep breath, and turned back toward her. "Ayaka. What brings you here?" I asked, giving her my best fake smile before walking to my door and stepping inside my apartment. Unfortunately, she followed me. I had no choice but to shut the door behind her. She immediately sat on my couch and waited for me to do the same. Instead, I decided to sit in a chair across from her. She's pure evil, even being this close to her makes me want to jump out my window.

"Look, I know this is a silly request and I have no right to be asking you for anything, but I have a little problem." Here she hung her head, I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

"Okay, what do you want?" I said, getting impatient and feeling like I was about to be used for something I wouldn't like.

She took a deep breath. "The thing is, I have a mini-stalker." I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it. Sure, Ayaka was very attractive, but anyone could tell by looking at her what a tramp she really was. Her clothing was also three main things: short, see-through, and flashy. She wasn't a shy girl and was never without a harem. I silently wondered where her fan club was now. And, why did she need _my_ help? "It's not funny, Mamoru! Look, I promised this guy that I would go to some dance at the university with him if he would leave me alone afterwards. We went to the dance together and now he thinks he's in love with me. Love? Can you believe that?" She started laughing. I hated her laugh. It sounded like Bozo the Clown after sucking down helium. I sank back in my chair, just waiting for the request I knew was coming. "Even though we aren't very close anymore, I know that if you do this for me he'll get the idea and leave me alone. I need you to pretend to be dating me for a few days. Can you do that, please?"

All right, so I couldn't help it, I burst out in an uncontrollable laughter. I mean, seriously, who wouldn't have? Here was a girl that literally broke my heart, and now she wanted me to pretend to date her?! I mean, it was a crack up!

"Look Mamoru, you don't have to laugh so hard." I heard her say over my giggles. But, there was no stopping me now. Once I jumped on the laugh train, there was no stepping off. I barely even noticed when she stood up and started making her way to the door. I tried to calm myself, just long enough to tell her there was no way I would be able to help her out.

"Ayaka, hold up a minute." I breathed out, my chest rising and falling quickly. I stood and followed after her. "What kind of situation are we talking about here? I mean, is this really serious or are you just trying to get me back?" I had to know if she was being sincere or not, if for no other reason than to protect myself.

"I'm being honest. This guy really freaks me out. It will just be for a couple of weeks, okay? Please, will you help me out here?" She gave me her sad, puppy dog, pleading face. The face she knew I couldn't resist. And, once again, I found myself believing her and actually agreeing to go along with her charade.

"All right, fine. But this is for two weeks tops! I mean it, Ayaka. If this guy doesn't get the picture, then it's your problem, okay?" She smiled and jumped up into my arms in gratitude. I quickly pushed her away, feeling my stomach turn over from her touch. Eventually, I got her to leave the apartment and head out of the building. The slamming door echoing throughout my apartment behind her. I flopped onto my sofa. Relief, mixed with a little dread at my decision, washing over me.

A few hours later, the sun started to sink down in the horizon. I couldn't exactly watch the sunset because this huge apartment building was just across the street from mine, blocking the sun from my view. So, instead of relaxing to a hidden sunset, I decided to look into some of those scholarships my counselor had given me.

I walked over to my backpack that I'd thrown by the door and dug through it, bringing out the pile of scholarship papers. I started going through them, finding that each one really did fit me perfectly. One in particular, however, was just for me. It read: "SEEKING: Male, orphaned, pre-medical student with financial difficulty. 3.0+ GPA, Junior or higher for $10,000 a year scholarship." It almost seemed too good to be true! I quickly glanced over the application, spotting a phone number there.

Reaching for my phone, I quickly dialed in the digits, waiting for the ring. After a while, a male voice answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, I'm Mamoru Chiba. I'm calling about the scholarship. Has it already been awarded this year?" I asked, hoping that I still had a chance to apply.

"Actually, no it hasn't, but today was the last day we were accepting applications."

"Oh no! Really?" My heart broke. What would I do now?

"Wait a minute, your name's Mamoru Chiba?" The man asked.

"Yeah." I answered, getting a little confused.

"I'm Dr. Takahashi and I think we can make an exception. You're financial counselor told me about your circumstances. Are you free tomorrow? I'd love to visit with you in person about this."

"Tomorrow? I'm definitely free!" I said, getting a flash of confidence again. I'd have to remember to thank my counselor later.

"All right, why don't we meet at the Faculty of Medicine building tomorrow? My office is room 238F. Say, around one?" I nearly shouted out my reply, "Yes, one o'clock!" before hanging up the phone with a big smile. Now things were finally looking up!

Well, that's what I thought anyway before I heard someone pounding hard on my apartment door. I nearly jumped in surprise when the person beyond the door started screaming too. "Chiba! You in there? Open this damn door, now!"

I softly walked over to the door, looking through the peep hole. I saw a huge guy, looked like a WWF wrestler or something! His arm was the size of my head, and the rest of him was even bigger. His bald head was covered in tattoos and his eyes were glaring into the peep hole, trying to see inside. Who was this guy?

He continued to scream and pound outside my door. I tried to slowly back away from it, trying to be as quiet as I could. I stealthily made it to the phone. I needed to call the police. This guy was way too scary to be ignored! As soon as my hand wrapped around the phone it started to ring. I answered it immediately, hoping the man outside hadn't heard it.

"Mamoru?" A woman's voice came over the line. I recognized that voice.

"Ayaka? Why are you calling?" I continued to back away from the door, watching as it slowly began to bend inward from the large man's thrusts against it.

"Mamoru, hey, so did you meet Souta?" I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion.

"Souta? Who's that?"

"He's the guy that's stalking me, hello!" She said in an annoying fashion. "I told him I had a new boyfriend now, you, and he said he was going to go have a word with you or something…" She trailed off a little and suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head.

"This Souta wouldn't have to be a big wrestler type with tattoos and such would he?" I suddenly felt very nervous, and very stupid.

"Oh yeah, that's him. So you did meet him, how'd it go?" The tone in her voice was so soft, uncaring. I wished I could have wrung her scrawny little neck.

"How'd it go? How'd it go!" I whispered out angrily. "He's here, banging at my door. I think he wants to kick my ass! How could you lie to me about this?"

"I never lied to you! He _is_ stalking me. I just never told you what he looked like, but you never asked." She continued. I could almost hear the smile in her voice.

"Whatever just get him away from my house!" I wanted to yell at her so badly, but if this Souta character knew I was home, I wouldn't doubt he'd actually find a way to break in here. Man, this day was terrible!

I hung up the phone, slinking over to my couch. I plopped down and just waited. After another couple of minutes of banging and shouting, it stopped. Either Ayaka had called him off, or he got bored. Either way I wasn't about to go find out why he wasn't there any longer.

"What an awful day." I said to myself, standing up and walking to the window. I looked down, watching as Souta exited out of my building. He walked like a gangster or something, shuffling his feet slowly. I ran a hand through my dark hair, wishing for some peace. Why was I always such a nice guy? Man, I sure would pay for that decision.

I tried to clear my mind of the mess of the day. I moved over and filled up a cup of coffee, taking the warm, dark liquid into my mouth. Coffee always had a soothing quality to it, but it wasn't really working today. I sat back down on my couch, flipping open a book. It was an old classic novel, and a little hard to get lost in.

As I was reading the words on the page, I found my mind wandering. I thought about the class I had missed that morning. I'd probably fail the class now, and that would bring down my GPA…which would mean that I would no longer qualify for that scholarship and would be kicked out of school for now being unable to pay my tuition. Then, I'd be so depressed that I'd lose my crappy job at the arcade and be evicted out of my apartment. I'd find myself living on the street, only to one day bump right into Souta…get my ass kicked, and simply die.

"All right. That's it! Stop thinking about this shit!" I stood up, pacing in front of my window. I had to do something to get my mind off this wretched day! So, I decided a run would be the perfect way to clear my head. I walked to my bedroom, taking off my white dress shirt and khaki pants and throwing on a wife beater and a pair of jogging pants. I headed out of the apartment, locking the door behind me and made my way out of the building.

Once outside, the crisp, cool air of Tokyo seemed almost as soothing as I needed. I started to jog down the road, heading to a park that I frequented often. I ran the paths there for nearly an hour, an hour of peace. When I run, I leave everything behind and simply focus on my legs pushing my body forward. It was heaven.

However, as the night came closer, I decided to head back home. I jogged my way inside the building and up the stairs, even down the hallway. I had to make that peace last as long as possible. But it ended a little too soon and I found myself standing before my apartment door. I unlocked it and went inside, locking myself in immediately there after.

The lights were off and the apartment was dark. I stumbled toward my bedroom, hoping to just crash and sleep, but something outside of my window caught my eye. It was the lights of an apartment across the street. I used what little moonlight that shone through to guide me a path to the window. I squinted my eyes, wanting to see into that apartment. All right, I was a curious bastard, so sue me.

And, when I discovered what I was looking at, it was even harder to squash my curiosity. A woman was walking in the apartment, a pair of short shorts on, and a tight little tank. She was absolutely stunning. Her hair was up in two long pigtails, a bright golden yellow. Her curvy figure was easily seen from the distance, but I just had to see it better.

I raced off as quickly as the darkness would allow to my bedroom closet. I pulled the string to turn on the light, shielding my eyes from the bright florescent bulb. When my eyes were properly adjusted, I reached up to the top-most shelf and pulled down a box. It was a box I put all the useless shit I had accumulated over the years, but it was also the box that I knew held a pair of binoculars.

I flipped off the light and went back to the window, hold the binoculars to my eyes. I focused them in on that beauty across the street. It looked like she had just moved in; she was currently unpacking some boxes. I'm not sure if it was my perverted nature or something else, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. She was stunning.

I got more comfortable, dropping to the floor in front of the window and continued to watch her as she tried to straighten up a few of her knick-knacks. I must have watched her for a good twenty minutes as she raced from box to box, smiling to herself over her possessions. I wanted to get to know this woman. I had to. Something in my heart told me that my life wouldn't be the same without her.

Once she quit unpacking, stood up and dusted herself off, she flicked off the light and left my view. I sighed to myself, making a silent pack to watch her again tomorrow night. I made my way to my room, collapsed in my bed and forgot the entire day, dreaming of the blond beauty from across the way…

To Be Continued…

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_(AN: What'd you think of this one? Do you like how it jumps from Serena than to Mamoru's POV every chapter or not? I hope you enjoyed it, and keep those reviews coming!!)_


	3. Chapter 3: A Stalking Opportunity

**"Peeping Toms"  
****by S. Schumaker**

_Standard Disclaimers Apply_

_(AN: Whoo-hoo! I am so unbelievably proud of this story! I really am! I've pretty much got the entire thing already written, so I'm really trying to crank out these updates for you! Anyway, I'm so glad so many of you readers are enjoying it, and even some of you remembering the original! That's so flattering! __Just to let you all know, I went back and replaced the first and second chapters with slightly different ones. It's the exact same except I'm placing the story in Tokyo instead of NYC and am going to be using the original Japanese names from here on out__. Hope this doesn't confuse any of you! So, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others! Please leave me reviews, it keeps me writing! Much love to you!)_

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**Chapter Three – A Stalking Opportunity**

I've never really considered myself a curious girl, but when I watched this gorgeous man across the street I found myself extremely intrigued. I don't know what it was about him, but I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away from his form. However, even if my eyes seemed glued to his every move, they weren't, unfortunately, able to watch him forever. Eventually, I observed him pacing in front of the window and then race off to another room of his apartment and out of my view. I quickly jerked the telescope toward the direction he had disappeared to, only to discover the window in that room was covered up by blinds. I sighed to myself. I guess my spying was over for the night.

I stood back up, rubbing at the sore spots that had developed on my knees and elbows from my fall and continued over to the light switch, re-flooding my apartment with bright rays. I moved the telescope to the far side of the window, out of the way so I wouldn't have any more clumsy attacks near it. Then, I moved over to one of my boxes labeled "cleaning" and opened it up. Inside I found an array of cleaning supplies, one for carpets, one for tiles and so on.

Since no one had been inside the apartment in a few weeks, things were looking a little dusty and grimy. It needed a thorough cleaning! So, I set to work. I wiped down the countertops in the kitchen that was adjoined to the living room, and then set about moping up the floors. Unfortunately, I didn't exactly own a mop and had to do this entire process on my hands and knees. My bruised up knees. What a pain! But, after an hour or so I was tuckered out and stopped my cleaning attack.

I rested for a few minutes before deciding to start unpacking things. I walked over to a book shelf that had been left by the old owners and pushed it against a wall, deciding that it wasn't too ugly and would be perfect for some of my knick-knacks and picture frames, at least until I could buy something better.

I headed toward a box labeled "favorites" and opened it up. My face burst into an uncontrollable smile the instant I saw what lay on top. It was my absolute favorite picture of my brother Motoki, my best friend Naru, and I. We had gone to a carnival and they had one of those booths that allow you to get all dressed up in old cowboy clothes and then they take your picture. Naru and I were wearing matching "hooker" dresses and Motoki was dressed in a cowboy hat and chaps. He stood in the middle of us, his head tilted off to one side, pretending to be a pimp or something as Naru and I cuddled up against him, acting like his "trophies." The picture was so unlike us that it was simply comical. I loved it! I moved a finger over the picture in admiration before moving to place it on the bookshelf.

Standing back from the shelf, I looked at the picture and smiled again, satisfied in its location, before heading back over to the box and reaching for more. I spent quite a while examining all of my pictures and trinkets before finding them a home on that book shelf and before I knew it, it was one o'clock in the morning! I straightened myself up, smiling as my gaze drifted over my progress before walking off to my bedroom, flicking the light off on my way.

I found my bed that I had shipped already set up (thanks to the apartment manager) and grabbed a nearby box labeled "linens." After shaking out my pink bunny sheets, I began to make my bed neatly. I quickly changed into my pajamas and practically tumbled into the bed in exhaustion. Tomorrow, I'd set out to look for a job. But for tonight, all my energy was being spent dreaming of my sexy neighbor with his gleaming muscles and dark, raven locks.

What seemed like only a few minutes later, but was really seven hours, a loud, obnoxious ringing filled my apartment, waking me from my slumber. I rolled over in bed, squinting my eyes against the morning light seeping through my window. It took a minute or two before I realized the ringing was an alarm I had set for myself on my mother's cell phone the night before. Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I stood and strode over toward the phone. Due to my squinted eyesight, I stubbed my toe on a box near the foot of the bed. Hopping one-legged out into the living room, I found the phone near the bookshelf and shut down the alarm.

Stretching my arms up over my head, I let out a loud yawn. Wiping the sleep away from my eyes I smiled to myself, glancing out the window toward the beautiful spring day. I headed back to my bedroom, opened up a large box with some of my dressier clothes. I pulled out a blue pencil skirt, matching blue blazer, and off-white blouse, quickly dressing myself. After brushing my long locks and fastening them up into my usual twin pigtails, I looked myself over in the large mirror on the back of my bedroom door. Brushing some wrinkles out of my skirt, I found myself ready to tackle a few interviews in downtown Tokyo. I headed back out into my living room/kitchen, made myself a quick piece of toast, grabbed my purse, and headed out of the apartment, locking it shut behind me.

Taking the elevator down to the lobby of my building, I fingered a strand of my blond hair, a wave of nervousness flooding over me. I did have a part-time job back in my home town during high school, as a drive-thru clerk at a McDonalds, but now it was time to get serious. Today, I was hoping to find a real job! A career! Plus, I didn't know the city that well. I wasn't really looking forward to bumming around looking for employment only to get myself lost. But, a job is a necessity for survival, so I swallowed down that nervousness and smiled to myself. Once the elevator dinged open, I walked to the front desk in my building and grabbed the community newspaper, flipping open the classifieds. Searching the index, I discovered an entire section devoted to computer related fields! Ecstatic, I turned to the correct page and began jotting down addresses and phone numbers of hospitals, nursing homes, libraries, and even fast food chains that were asking for help with people with computer skills!

Feeling a slight confidence rise up in me, I headed out into the street. I waved down a taxi and asked him to take me to the nearest subway station, hoping to get slightly familiar with the train system and save a little money in the process. Only a few minutes later, I found myself standing before a metro stop, the metro stop that would take me to the rest of my life.

Heading toward the entrance, I rode the large escalator down underground. Once I finally came to the end, I heard the loud roar of moving subways all around me and decided to head toward the ticket counter. I bought myself an all-day pass to ride the Tokyo trains and continued inside the metro station, spotting a large city map hanging on the wall. After I searched out the first potential career location on the map and finding the correct subway to take in order to get me there, I continued further inside the subway station, finding myself standing on a long platform completely full with people. The platform was littered with garbage and smelled of urine. I scrunched up my nose in disgust as I walked down toward the end of the platform. Up above my head were flashing signs that indicated which trains were coming, where they were headed, and how long it would take for them to get here. Searching down the train I needed to take, I realized I had about a five minute wait and decided to sit down on a nearby bench, clutching my purse to my chest.

A different train soon pulled up to the platform and I watched as practically hundreds of people stepped off it and hundreds more from the platform boarded. I suddenly felt like an out-of-towner, watching as people stepped inside the trains, not really even paying attention to what they were doing. One man was busy reading a newspaper as he stepped inside, grabbing onto one of the long poles inside without even looking up from his reading. Everyone seemed to understand the system so well and I had no clue what I was doing. Maybe, someday, all this would become familiar to me too and I wouldn't feel as scared as I did at that moment.

Eventually, the train pulled away from the platform and mine came into view. Standing up, I moved closer to the edge and waited for the train to come to a screeching stop before me. As the doors opened, a few children ran out of the subway beneath me before I stepped inside. I found an empty seat and quickly sat down in it, thankful that another large metro map was posted on the wall nearby. I scanned over my upcoming journey as the doors binged closed and the train started up. I felt a slight jerk with the quick acceleration of the train, and suddenly, I felt like I was on some rickety roller-coaster. I had to force myself not to scream and hide underneath my seat. The car was shaking a lot and it was making so many fast turns. Sure, there were windows in the train, but we were passing through pitch black tunnels with nothing guiding us. It was terrifying! Soon, thank goodness, the ride slowed down and I could get off.

I stepped out into a near identical metro stop from the last, thankful to have solid, unmoving ground beneath me. I quickly found the stairs and headed up, finally being able to get some fresh air and let my heart beat slow down. I found myself in a different part of town, silently praying that I wouldn't get lost. But, then I spotted something that gave me some relief. It was a large sign that indicated that a hospital was nearby, my first stop. I made my way down the sidewalk in the direction of the sign. My eyes soon landed on the largest hospital I had ever seen. It was at least twenty stories up, if not more, and gleamed beautiful in the morning light. I adjusted my skirt and jacket before crossing the street and heading inside of it.

Doctors, patients, and nurses were everywhere! I practically had to push my way inside, making my way toward the front desk. The desk was encased in a large glass box, rows and rows of medical charts in an array of different colors lay beyond the desk. A large woman with a hair-covered upper lip sat at the desk, busily scribbling something down in a chart. I stood before the window, trying to calm my nervous heart. After awhile, the woman looked up and smiled brightly at me. Her twisted, brown teeth trying to welcome me, but really just made me sick to my stomach. She slide open a window, and said: "Hello, dearie! What can I do for you?"

She seemed nice enough, so I smiled back. "Actually, I saw your ad in the paper, looking for a computer specialist and I was hoping I could get an applica-" But, before I could finish, she broke me off.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Hun." Her smile disappeared, a slight frown taking over.

"What happened? Am I too late?" I asked, getting sad myself.

She simply nodded at me. "They hired someone real late last night. I'm real sorry. Good luck finding something else though." She explained before shuffling out of her chair and disappearing behind one of the rows of charts. My shoulders slumped in disappointment as I headed back out into the street. But, I told myself, this was just my first stop! Plenty more opportunities await!

I headed back to the metro station and found my next location, a nearby comic store. Hopping on the subway, I felt a little better about it. Now, at least, I knew that it was a terrifying experience! Soon, the journey was over and I was standing out on the street again, another safe metro trip behind me. As I entered the comic store, I began to get excited! Working in a comic store would be amazing! I adored comics in high school and could finally catch up on some of my reading if I got this job. I marched inside, feeling confident and excited.

"Hi! I'm Tsukino Usagi, and I saw your ad in the paper about needing someone who knows how to network computers. Is the job still available?" I asked the young, nerdy clerk reading a manga behind the counter. He pushed up his glasses, before opening a drawer and lifting out a clipboard. He scanned the top sheet on the clipboard, running a finger down the list there. Finally, he stopped and read a line or two.

"Sorry, miss. Says here that we don't need anyone anymore. Not sure why." The boy shrugged, slipping the clipboard back under the counter and picking up his comic again, getting reimmerced in it. I sighed to myself, jealous of the boy and his current employment. I slumped out of the store and once more made my way back to the subway. I pulled out my list of addresses and discovered my next stop was a nursing home. I nodded to myself and jumped on the next train.

And, once again, the position was already filled. I practically wilted down onto a bench outside of the nursing home in utter disappointment, looking over the flowers that lined the sidewalk. A bee flew from one flower to the next and I sat and watched his progress for a while before I forced myself to stand up and headed to my next location.

Four hours later, I found myself close to tears on a smelly metro station bench sitting next to a sleeping homeless man. After getting turned down at the hospital, comic store, and nursing home, I proceeded to be turned away from three grocery stores, a hotel, two police stations, a library, and four fast-food restaurants. I was crushed. My hair was messy, threatening to spill out from my pigtails, my blouse was getting wrinkled, and my skirt was scratching me like crazy. Tokyo had truly beaten me today. Eventually, I got to my feet and trudged inside another train, nearly dropping myself down in a chair. "Guess I'll just head home." I said to myself, feeling miserable.

As the train started up, I lifted my gaze and began scanning over some of the other train occupants. A mother and her baby sat nearest to me, the baby making slow cooing sounds of comfort. I watched them briefly, a small smile coming to my face at the cuteness. Then, my eyes traveled over an older man, coughing incessantly. He pulled his sweater a little tighter around him as his coughs slowly started to fade away. Then, with his back to me, I saw a man about my age standing near the doorway of the car. His hair was so dark, gently falling into his eyes which were looking through a pair of reading glasses. He was reading a large textbook that he held in one hand, while his other hand wrapped around a pole to keep his balance. As I looked at his figure from behind, I couldn't help but get a familiar feeling, as if I'd seen him before. I continued watching him while the train slowed and began to stop. He shut the book, slipped off his glasses and put them into a pocket inside his jacket.

As his body turned toward the door and I could plainly see his profile my heart stopped. I did know him! Well, not really, but I had seen him before. The gorgeous man that I had been spying on the night before stood, here, right in front of me! It was as if time stopped and all I could see was him. My eyes memorized his features, his cheek bones, his dark, deep blue eyes. I looked down his body, remembering his hard-line stature, protruding muscles. Before I knew what I was doing, I rose to my feet and followed him out of the subway. Pursuing from a few feet behind him, I continued in his trek. Once we made it out of the subway station and back to the open air, I blinked as realization hit me. I was stalking the poor guy!!

Even though I had come to my senses, I continued to trail him. It was as if he were a magnet and I was simply being pulled to him. We walked a few blocks before he suddenly turned and headed inside a large building. I looked up, noticing a sign on the outside. It read "Tokyo University, Faculty of Medicine." So, my mystery man was a college guy, huh? And, possibly into medicine! Well, since I followed him this far, might as well keep on going! And so, I did. I raced behind him into the building. Looking around for his, now very familiar, build, I spotted him standing before a bulletin board about twenty feet down. I stopped and took in his image again; he really was the most handsome man I had ever seen!

But, before I had fully explored his figure with my eyes, he was gone again. He disappeared into a room near the board. I jogged down toward where he had been standing; looking through the small window of the door he entered. Inside was a desk and a whole bunch of scattered papers, some sort of office, perhaps? I saw him shake an older man's hand before they both sat down and began talking. I watched them converse for a while, his back to me again. My eyes landed on his thick, charcoal locks. I began to wonder what itwould feel like as it passed between my fingers. I longed to reach out and touch it.

And, wouldn't you know it, my observation time was once again interrupted when the man inside with him noticed me looking in and stood, making his way toward me. I backed away from the door, hoping my neighbor wouldn't spot me. Suddenly, the door sprang open, and the older man stepped out, his face turned toward the sexy stranger. "Hang on a minute, Mamoru." The man said to his guest, turning back toward me. "I'll be through in about twenty minutes, young lady, if you'd like to come back. Otherwise, my office hours are posted up here." He pointed toward the bulletin board where a small calendar hung. I nodded to him quickly, turning where he gestured, feeling completely embarrassed for being caught spying.

As the teacher shut the door and continued with his meeting, I scanned over the bulletin board, allowing my face a chance to cool. And, suddenly, there it was. The opportunity of a lifetime!

_Wanted: Computer genius to help run campus computer labs! Salary pay with benefits! Stop by and see Mizuno Ami in Student Affairs office 106b._

Perhaps my luck was changing for the better! I looked around for a campus map and searched down the Student Affairs building. Skipping out of the building, I headed toward the building, silently thanking my mystery neighbor, who I now knew as Mamoru, for leading me here...

To Be Continued…

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_(AN: All right!! He's actually been spotted!! Wahaha! Now comes all the good stuff, well, soon anyway! Also, I just wanted to mention that if you leave reviews to any of my stories, I will reply to them! I never knew you could do that until recently, so review and I'll give you my personal opinions and answer questions! Hope to hear from you! Take care!!!)_


	4. Chapter 4: A True Interaction

**"Peeping Toms"  
****by S. Schumaker**

Standard Disclaimers Apply

_(AN: All right! Funny thing is, once I finished up chapter three I immediately started working on chapter four. I rarely have the inspiration to do that, but for some reason, today I did! So, yay! Now we have Mamoru's day! I hope you enjoy it! Remember to check my profile page often for update information and also leave reviews so I can comment you back! Also, I'm not sure what happened when I uploaded chapter three...whether it was my mistake or if fanfiction DOT net was just having issues, but a lot of you emailed saying you couldn't access the new chapter...I hope it all got figured out for you and I hope you can access this one! Enjoy! Thanks a bundle!!)_

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**Chapter Four – A True Interaction**

BANG!

I sprung up in bed. What on earth was that? I laid there panting for a minute, ears at the ready to pick up any further sounds, head whipping around my small bedroom, eyes searching for an intruder. Glancing over at the clock, I saw the red blinking numbers torturing me. 6:58 Am. I could have screamed. It was the one day a week I could actually sleep in. I didn't have to be at the university until one o'clock to meet Dr. Takahashi, and the only 'class' I had today was the weekly meeting with my lab partner to discuss our results. We usually met in the science computer labs to chart our weekly data, and not until real late in the day.

But, I guess, fate wasn't going to grant me a chance to catch up on some much desired sleep. I waited, poised for any sounds of movement within my apartment, but heard nothing. As my breath started slowing again, I allowed myself to begin sinking back into the comforts of my bed. Just as my head hit the pillow and my eyes started getting heavy with sleep once more...

BANG! BANG! BANG!

This time, I jumped out of bed in a flash, pulled a robe on and raced out into my living room. I looked around for the source of the disturbance. BANG! My head whipped toward my front door. Who could that be? At this hour? I walked up to the door, pressing an eye against the peep hole. Whoever it was would be getting an earful from me! That was for sure!

As I adjusted my eyes gazing through the small hole, I nearly choked on my own tongue when I saw Souta once more standing before me. My face paled as I backed away from the door, trying to tiptoe away quietly. Man, this guy was persistent!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Standing back from the doorway a bit I tried to force myself to relax. Sure this guy was strong enough to knock all my teeth out in one blow, and he could certainly rip my front door off its hinges, but that was no reason to be scared, right? Wrong! I was terrified. Now, I consider myself a pretty fearless guy. I mean, with my childhood and growing up in an orphanage, I had to be fearless, but standing up to a guy like Souta was down right insane.

Swallowing a lump of nervousness in the back of my throat, I inched softly back toward the door, once more catching a glimpse of Ayaka's stalker. His head whipped to the right, something catching his attention there. I shuffled over; straining my eyes to see what distracted him. One of my neighbors, old crab-ass Mr. Tanaka, had popped his head out into the hall checking for the source of the noise. "Son! What on God's green earth do you think you're doing at this hour? You're waking up the entire building!"

I winced to myself; Mr. Tanaka was in for it now. What kind of fool would ever start an argument with a man the size of Souta? And, Mr. Tanaka... He's barely five feet tall, 120 pounds! He's certainly the last person I expected to be challenging him.

As Souta stomped his way over to my enraged neighbor, towering over his small form, I cringed for poor Tanaka's sake. "What'd you say, old man?" Souta's angry tone was extremely clear through the door as he gazed down hard on Mr. Tanaka's face.

However, Tanaka didn't back down from him. He was certainly showing more courage than I ever would. He stayed planted where he was, straining his neck to look up into Souta's eyes. "I said, you're waking up the whole damn building! What on earth are you thinking?" He raised his hands in annoyance at the youngster before him.

"I have to speak with the guy that lives here. Mamoru Chiba. It's... _urgent_." Souta continued, throwing a thumb over his shoulder toward my door, toward me. I gulped.

"Well, you're not going to get that chance if you keep coming here pissing everyone off! I guarantee that! He's probably down at that Crown Arcade anyway…works there a lot. Go pound on their door." Tanaka glared up at Souta, shuffling back inside his house, slamming the door shut behind him.

Great! Now the guy who wants to kick my ass knows where I work! Thanks a bundle, Tanaka! Souta turned back toward my door, his eyes held laughter behind them. "Gotcha now, Chiba!" Souta thrust a fist up in the air in glee before skipping away down the hall and disappearing from sight. I turned my back to the door, falling back against it in defeat. Thankfully, I don't have to work at the Crown until the weekend, so maybe I can avoid Souta for a while longer. I really needed to call this whole charade off with Ayaka, before, well, before I got hurt!

After Souta's departure, I sighed to myself. Sleep would be impossible now, so I decided to get ready for the day and maybe do a little extra studying to hopefully catch up on what I missed the day before. I hopped into the shower, relief flowing over me in the form of hot water. Soothing as it was, my fingers and toes started to prune up and forced me out; I dressed myself in a black tee-shirt, my favorite green blazer and tan trousers. Afterwards, I proceeded to the kitchen, flicking the start button on my coffee machine. Breakfast of champions. With the machine buzzing softly in the background, I walked over to my window, taking in the sight of the beautiful morning.

When my coffee had finished brewing, I poured myself a cup before sitting down on the couch in my living room. Taking a long swig of the dark liquid, I felt my stress start to fade away. Coffee sure is grand, isn't it? My eyes drifted over the coffee table, a grin spread over my features. The binoculars I had used to peep on my neighbor last night rested innocently on it. Maybe I could get one more glimpse of her, you think? Setting my coffee down, I grabbed the binoculars and walked to the window, my smile never fading. Pressing them to my eyes, I gazed over into her apartment. Dodging the boxes and furniture, I scanned the room in search of her sensual figure.

As my gaze reached the kitchen, my heart sank in disappointment. She was nowhere in sight. I started to drop the binoculars before my eyes noticed a flurry of gold rushing past. I swiftly pressed them back into place, scanning around for the source of the movement. And, that's when I saw her. She was currently hopping around on one foot, her face twisted with pain. As she continued hopping along, I began to laugh at the cuteness she portrayed. She must have just stubbed her toe because she held her foot in her hand as she continued jumping around like a bunny.

The pain she felt must have subsided because she soon stopped and grabbed something on the floor, a cell phone. She opened it quickly before slamming it shut almost instantly. Setting the phone back down, she proceeded to reach her arms up over her head in a stretch while her mouth opened wide to release a yawn. My eyes widened when I realized that her stretch caused her pajama top to rise up, revealing her toned, tan stomach stopping just beneath her breasts. I felt my pulse begin racing as my neighbor unknowingly tortured me with her beauty. My body temperature started rising steadily as I imagined myself grasping the bottom of her shirt, bringing it slowly up and over her breasts. I saw myself lean down, taking her into my mouth, liking and caressing her sensitive skin.

Before my fantasy could escalate further, she released her stretch, dropped her arms back to her sides and forced the shirt to drop down over her exposed skin. Sighing to myself in disappointment, I shook my head of the lingering desire within me and continued spying on her. She began walking toward her window, looking out at...me! I dropped the binoculars in fright, flustered I slipped and slide over to my couch before catapulting myself over it, landing with a loud thud!

My face burned with humiliation that she had caught me peeping on her, just as my leg started twinging with pain from my fall. I slowly lifted my head, letting my eyes barely peek over the top of the sofa. I squinted my eyes in her direction, watching as she smiled against the morning rays. She turned and headed down a hallway, leaving my view. I stood, brushing myself off, and walked back to the window. She didn't see me? How could she not have seen me watching her? I glanced from the window, back to the couch I had just flipped myself over. All that for nothing? Damn!

I rubbed my sore leg, laughing at my situation. Shaking my head at my crazy antics, I walked over and grabbed my backpack, grabbing a book out. I slipped on my dorky reading glasses and starting to peruse the book.. As I tried to forget my humiliating leap over my own sofa, and my even more humiliating peeping hobby, I forced myself to get lost in my chemistry book. I read for what seemed like hours, wishing that I could read enough to cover what I had missed.

Pretty soon, however, I felt the familiar pangs of hunger and had to take a break. I headed to my kitchen, stealing a quick glance at the golden haired beauty's residence, before I made myself a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Once I had finished, I realized that time really had flown by, it was nearly 11 am!

Just as I swallowed the last delicious morsel of my sandwich, the shrill ringing of my phone hit my ears. Dusting the leftover bread crumbs off my fingers, I strode over to my cordless. Pressing the talk button, I lifted the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Mamoru-chan!" I groaned.

"Ayaka." I paused, this could not be good. "What do you want?" I huffed out, my annoyance clear to both of us.

"Well, since we're _technically_ going out, I thought we should go on a date together. Now. Besides, if Souta is going to believe this charade, we have to be seen together in public, right?" If I still had been snacking on that pb & j, I would have been choking on it right about now.

"First of all, we're not _technically_ doing anything, Ayaka, and certainly not together. Secondly, this whole farce is ridiculous and well, I'm pretty much calling it quits. You can deal with this Souta character on your own."

"What?!" I groaned again, here it comes. "Mamoru..." I could hear the strangled tone in her voice, the whimpering of oncoming tears. Great, just great!

"Ayaka, don't cry." I was annoyed. I really was! This girl is so selfish, so self-centered, so egotistical.

"I'm going to cry if I want to cry, Mamoru!"

I flinched.

"I thought you were going to help me with this creep! I thought I could trust you. I thought you were a sweet guy, that you'd put other people's problems before your own. I guess I was wrong!" I could hear her moving the phone to hang it up, and that's when it hit me. The guilt. The undeniable guilt I always felt with Ayaka. Don't ask me where it came from, don't ask me how it always affects me. It just does. And, Ayaka, she knows exactly how to use it against me.

"Ayaka! Wait a minute." I felt like suffocating myself. I'm such an idiot, such a softy, such a coward.

"What?!" She nearly screeched out. I shook my head at my upcoming words before I said them. I just know I'm going to regret this...

"Where did you have in mind for our _date_?" As the word date rolled off my tongue, I slapped a palm hard against my own forehead, my own stupidity. Her happy shriek nearly deafened me as she howled out a café name and I somehow agreed to meet her there. Slamming the phone back down into it's cradle, I gave an angry, whimpered groan. As it echoed inside my apartment, I walked, slumped over, to my backpack, lifting it over my head to rest on my shoulder. Grabbing my forgotten chemistry book and tossing it my bag, I headed toward the door.

Standing in the door frame, I looked from my safe, secure apartment, to the damned, loathsome hallway that would lead me to my _date_ with Ayaka. Releasing another long groan, I stepped out into that hallway of doom, sealing off my sanctuary behind me.

Walking out of my building, I took a quick glance up at the apartment with the blond beauty. "I'd give anything to be meeting you on a date today..." I whispered under my breath. Sighing, I turned away, and started the long walk to the café.

By the time I had gotten to Café Rouge, Ayaka was already seated inside. Spotting me through the window, she stood at the table and sent me a wave. Grudgingly, I headed inside, hanging my head in inner shame.

Once inside, I made my way over to her. Big mistake. When I got within two feet of her, she leaped at me, tying her arms around my neck. Planting a quick kiss on my cheek. I struggled with myself not to throw her off, before she pulled herself away. Sitting down together, she whispered to me. "Souta's outside, hiding behind that building. Don't look!" She nearly screamed at me as I attempted to turn my head.

"All right, so, he's really stalking you, huh?" She nodded in response. "Okay, let's do this date thing already and get this whole thing over with." I groaned out, standing up and taking her order. I headed to the barrista counter and ordered Ayaka's latte and my black coffee. Handing the girl behind the counter a couple bucks, getting the drinks in return, I turned and made my way back to Ayaka. Only to run into Souta, who had somehow ran across the street and into the café while I waited for the coffees.

I gulped. "Hi." I greeted.

"Mamoru Chiba?" He asked me. I pretended to be shocked, internally realizing I wouldn't make it as an actor.

"Uh...yeah." I glanced over to Ayaka, who had mysteriously disappeared from our table. I stepped past Souta, continuing toward the empty booth. Setting the drinks down, I turned back to my tormentor.

"Souta." He placed a finger on his chest. I nodded awkwardly. "You datin' Ayaka?" And there it was, the moment of truth. All right, I had three possible options here. I could tell me the fabrication that Ayaka and I were indeed seeing each other, and simply bolt after my confession so he couldn't kick my ass. Or, I could tell him the truth and have Ayaka pissed at me, making me revisit Guilt Lane. Or lastly, I could tell him the fabrication about the two of us, have him beat the snot out of me, and pray that I wouldn't end up six feet under because of it.

Standing there, beside our table, my eyes traveled over his beastly form, his thick arms, his expansive chest, his true ability to beat the crap out of me. So, I chose option four. Run away! I grabbed my bag once more, and bolted as fast as my legs could take me out of that café. Surprisingly, Souta was too stunned by my maneuver to follow after me. I raced to the nearest metro station, darting down into it. Skipping steps on my way down the escalator. I jumped over the ticket meter and raced inside the station, hopping on the open subway waiting at the platform.

Once inside the train, I slumped down into a seat, hoping to catch my quickened breath. As the journey continued on, I stood and strode over to the nearest subway map, trying to figure out where I was headed. Eventually, I realized I was heading away from the university and that I'd need to eventually turn myself around. Glancing down at my watch, I discovered that it was almost noon leaving only an hour to get to my meeting with Dr. Takahashi.

At the next stop, I exited and headed back up to one of the ticket counters. Buying a standard ticket, I searched down the train I needed to take and discovered when it would be arriving. I walked back to the platform, and sat myself down on one of the many benches littering it. Pulling out one of my textbooks and slipping on my glasses, I started to study once more as I waited for my train to arrive.

About fifteen minutes later, I heard the familiar shrieking of brakes and looked up to discover my train coming into the station. Standing, I shut a finger into my book and walked inside the opening doors of the subway. I took a seat next to a woman holding a fussing baby and continued to read. I had about a twenty-five minute ride to the university, which left me with plenty of time to make it to my appointment.

I continued reading as the train journey forward. Every stop or two, I'd look up from my book to be sure not to miss my stop. As the train started filling up more and more, I noticed all the seats taken and an elderly man standing near one of the doorways. He was clutching desperately to his sweater, coughing horribly into a handkerchief in his palm. Feeling guilty for sitting as this weak man stood before me, I offered my seat to him, which he readily took. I smiled down at him as I took his place near the door. Holding on to one of the poles, I continued reading.

A few minutes later, after a couple more quick stops, the train slowed down at my destination. I shut my book, placed my glasses back into my jacket pocket and turned toward the door. As it opened, I felt a strange twinge on the back of my neck, the tiny hairs standing up there. I shrugged off the feeling and stepped off the train, making my way to the streets above.

Walking down the street toward the Faculty of Medicine, I got a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach, as if someone were following me. My head itched to turn back and see, but I shook the desire away. Someone probably was following me from the subway! Numerous people in the city took the subway, including university students. I smiled at my paranoia before stepping up and into the building.

As I walked the hall, searching for the office of Dr. Takahashi, I started getting nervous. What if I couldn't get this scholarship? What if he turned me away? How would I pay for the semester? Would I be able to? Taking in a deep breath, I found myself standing before his office door, a bulletin board next to it. I looked over, spotting his office hours posted on the board and I quickly checked my watch, thankful that he would be in even though I was fifteen minutes early for my appointment with him. But, punctuality is a virtue, right? So, I knocked softly on the door, seeing who I assumed was the doctor behind it. He nodded me in and I softly entered his office, shutting the door behind me.

"Mr. Chiba, welcome!" He greeted, holding a hand out for me to shake which I did readily. "Take a seat, son." I complied, sitting in a large chair before his desk. He stood and sat on the edge of the desk before me, smiling down at me.

"I'd like to preface this meeting by saying thank you so much for allowing me to give this interview after the due date. I really appreciate it, Dr. Takahashi." My words came out in an even, respectful tone even though I was practically shaking from head to toe in nervousness.

"Well, from what your guidance counselor told me, you're quite the student. It was my obligation to meet with you before I made my final decision."I could feel my face heat up with his compliment.

Takahashi lifted his gaze toward the door, silence filling the small office. He stood and walked toward it. I followed him with my eyes, wondering where he was going. "Hang on a minute, Mamoru." He opened the door, talking to a young woman standing in the hallway. My eyes lazily drifted over her. With a flash of blond pigtails, I settled my eyes back on the desk in front of me. Wait a minute! Was that...? I whipped my head back to the door, only to see Dr. Takahashi shutting it once again, smiling over at me. I strained my head to the side, trying to see out of the small window in the wooden door, but the hallway was already empty.

I shook my head. "Geez, Mamoru, got the girl on your brains or what?" I whispered to myself as Dr. Takahashi took up his seat behind the large desk.

"What was that?" He asked, placing a pair of glasses over his eyes. I shook my head at him.

"Nothing, sir."

"All right, well, why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself, Mamoru. Why do you think you deserve this scholarship?" He leaned back in his chair, linking his fingers together.

So, I told him. I started discussing my difficult childhood. The death of my parents at age six, the amnesia, the numerous orphanages and foster homes I was bounced around in. Then, I started telling him of my love for medicine. "There's just something about helping people when there's no one else that can that really fuels me. I find it rewarding, soothing. I almost wish the doctors who patched me up after the car accident had felt more of those feelings back then. Maybe my experiences wouldn't have been so...empty, so lonely. I want to become a doctor in order to give something back, to give back the compassion that I wish I had received."

I sat back, trying to think up more convincing arguments to support my case, more feelings I could share. As my mind started coming up with numerous reasons why I needed, why I deserved the scholarship, Dr. Takahashi held up a hand, halting me. "Mamoru, that's all I need to hear. Thank you." He dropped his head, scribbling something down on a legal pad before him. I nodded slowly, feeling like I'd blown my chance. I grabbed my bag and started heading toward the door. "Wait a minute, son!"

I turned back, spotting Dr. Takahashi coming from around his desk toward me, holding an envelope out to me. I instinctively grabbed it, looking down at it. "Give this to your financial counselor. You got the scholarship. Congratulations, Mamoru Chiba."

"What?! I got it!" I smiled bigger than I ever had before. I couldn't seem to control myself as I grasped the doctors hand, shaking it about quickly. "Thank you so much, doctor, really! You don't know how much this means to me!"

In a daze, I stumbled out of his office, not hearing him mumble. "No, I think I do know." I sent a smile behind me toward his closed door as I walked the halls; I let out a giant leap, simply elated.

"I got it!" I shouted to no one, students roaming the halls looked at me with worried gazes, but I didn't care. I had got the scholarship that would keep me in school, keep me working toward my ultimate goal. I immediately headed to my counselor's office, dropping the envelope in her mail slot.

Just as I was about to leave the financial aid office and head back home in my delighted state, I ran right into my lab partner Ryo Urawa. "Oh sorry." I apologized quickly, before noticing who it was. "Ryo! Hey man, what's going on?" He smiled up at me.

"Hey Mamoru! I was just about to call you, try and convince you to come down here a little earlier than we usually meet."

I smiled back at him. "Really?"

Ryo walked over to a different mail slot, sliding a large manila envelope into it before turning back to me. "So, is it all right if we do our weekly lab meeting now, or are you busy?"

I shook my head: "Nope, I'm not busy at all. We can do all the data pooling now."

"Great!" We walked out of the office together, taking the familiar paths down to the science computer labs.

"So, why the change in schedule?" I questioned, my snoopy nature once again breaking free.

"Actually, I have a date with my girlfriend, Ami, tonight and I didn't want to keep her waiting." As we talked, we came upon the familiar labs, looking inside to find two free computers next to each other. At the back of the room, we spotted a couple and made our way toward them. As we sat down at the desk, we each pulled out our lab books, getting ready to compare notes.

We started discussing our findings on our current project. We were supposed to observe and document the changes in behavior of cichlid females as their environments were altered. Pretty boring stuff, actually. But, it was all for the grade. So, we shared the different alterations we performed and how their behaviors changed because of those alterations.

After discussing for about thirty minutes, we started to create a chart on the computer. Ryo, a computer genius, was given that particular task. I sat back, trying to offer suggestions, but mainly just watching the master at his work. As Ryo got more and more detailed in his chart, I started to zone out. To be honest, I had no clue what he was doing, and I simply started staring off.

I moved my stare around the room, looking at the other students, watching what they were doing. But then, the most peculiar thing happened. I thought I saw my sexy, golden-goddess standing in the doorway through the corner of my eye. I lifted my gaze, zipping it quickly toward the door, and there she was! She stood with another girl our age with dark blue hair, chit-chatting away. My jaw fell open in shock! I dropped my head down below the computer, hiding myself from her. Here she was!! Right in front of me! I peered over the computer, watching as the blue hair girl started leading her toward... me. I dropped down again, too embarrassed to look at her. I turned my head away toward the wall as the two girls inched closer to me.

"Hi sweetie." A soft, gentle voice said. I turned around slowly at the words. Ryo stood up beside me.

"Hey, honey." He leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on the blue haired girl's cheek. Ryo knew those girls? "Ami, this is Mamoru, my lab partner." He pointed behind himself to me. Gulping I stood, desperately trying not to look at the gorgeous blond beside them. I reached out a hand, taking Ami's in mine.

"Nice to meet you." I replied, my arms darting quickly over the blond beauty. I scanned her face, giving her a small smile. Did she look...nervous?

"Ryo, dear, this is Usagi Tsukino. I just hired her to be the new computer lab technician. Usagi, this is my boyfriend Ryo Urawa." I watched as Ryo took Usagi's hand, shaking it politely. A sudden anger came over me; I wanted to punch him for touching her. I shook my head of the thoughts, where did this possessive nature come from?

"Usagi, this is Mamoru." Ryo introduced, elbowing me in the side. I licked my lips, clenched and unclenched my fist, before bringing my hand out to meet hers. As our hands joined, a pulsing sensation seemed to flow through my body. I found my knees going weak, shaking slightly with that simple touch.

"It's nice to meet you, Usagi." I said, barely above a whisper. She blushed at my soft tone before replying: "Nice to meet you too... Mamoru."

To Be Continued...

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_(AN: All right! They've officially met! Yes! Now, all the good, yummy, juicy stuff comes along! This chapter took me forever to write! Sorry everyone! There was just so much that had to happen here that it took me a while to wrap all the thoughts in my brain together! But, here it is, finished! I hope you enjoyed it! Please review me and let me know what you thought, those reviews help get new chapters out faster...they really do! Much love! Take care!)_


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